Overnight fire leaves Waco family homeless

Waco, Tx — Disaster couldn't have come at a worse time for one Waco family. An overnight Wednesday fire leaves them homeless, just days before Christmas.

Thursday morning, the family stopped by what used to be their home, staring in disbelief that the fire consumed it in just a matter of hours. Charred remains are all that's left of the family's home, located in the 800 block of North 34th Street.

"Majority of the house is burned up pretty well, a lot of smoke and heat and fire damage," said Lieutenant Tracy Hawthorne of the Waco Fire Marshall's office.

Around 11 p.m., the homeowner says all she heard was a popping sound coming from the stove she had just turned off. Almost immediately, she exited the house to escape the blaze.

"They cooked a meal and the homeowner and them were sitting down eating, and they saw some smoke, went in there and saw a fire in the kitchen. And, then they got out and called 911," said Hawthorne.

Five people lived in the home. Wednesday night, the American Red Cross provided shelter for the homeowner, her daughter and granddaughter, who were at the home during the fire.

While they may have lost all their belongings, the family is just happy everyone made it out alive

"It seems like they did about everything they could do. They didn't really do anything out of the ordinary," said Hawthorne.

A donation fund has been set up at Member's Choice FCU. If you stop by there, you can donate to the Debbie Guerrero account.

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